As we reported in our earlier post, the immensely important Celtic site of Flag Fen is in serious danger of decaying within the next twenty years! Originally scheduled until the 1st May 2012, a unique opportunity will become available for folks to contribute to the new Flag Fen Archaeological Dig! Watch the video above to learn how important the Bronze Age site of Flag Fen is and how endangered it has become. But now some fantasic news is breaking!

Starting in July of 2012, as much archaeological work as can be done will be done to rescue, preserve and maintain the remains. The project has been taken over by DigVentures who want to involve us, in a variety of ways to help fund the project.

They have raised 67% of the £25,000 necessary to properly fund the event and desperately need the remainder before the end of May.

The Big News

Digventures have announced several amazing new developments in the project. They report:

The original end date of our funding window is fast approaching; but as you may have noticed, things have changed. Our partners, Vivacity, have got some great plans for involving local people in the project, so they have asked us to keep the funding open until the 30th of May to enable them to reach as many people as possible.

They also told us that:

Vivacity will be sponsoring four bursaries for students from University Centre Peterborough’s Archaeology and Landscape History BA course to dig with us at Flag Fen. We’re thrilled to work with them, and look forward to welcoming students from other universities as well.

Vivacity is offering the bursaries for students on University Centre Peterborough’s Archaeology and Landscape History BA undergraduate course.

Those who successfully apply for them will receive funding for a week of archaeology training and hands-on digging at the Bronze Age site.Abi Hunt, course leader and lecturer, said:

Our students will benefit hugely from this opportunity. Flag Fen is not only one of Peterborough’s most important assets – it is incredibly important world-wide. It is vital for our local students to gain in-depth knowledge of the site.

The bursary scheme is part of Vivacity and Dig Ventures’ Flag Fen Lives project which will see the archaeological trenches open to the public from July 23 to August 12.

The Project

DigVentures Ltd will be excavating the iconic Bronze Age site of Flag Fen, where extensive drainage and climate change threaten to destroy the world-renowned archaeology forever.

Our work will be an essential part of saving the archaeology and giving the site a future life, and all we need to do is to raise £25,000 to make this incredible project happen. You and your friends can be a part of it – by supporting us through buying benefits, and even joining us on site. The more you contribute, the more involved you can become – from being one of the first to receive the site report, to rolling up your sleeves and actually taking part.

As soon as you support the project at any level, you will receive access to the Site Hut, an online forum providing exclusive daily project updates, interviews, lectures with archaeological superstars, films, photos – or just pop in for a nice cup of tea! We’ll be filming on site every day, and posting all sorts of fabulous information to keep you up to date. If you can’t join us in the field, we’d love a crew of armchair archaeologists out there following our every move.

The field school at Flag Fen (for those who purchase a benefit at £125 and above) will be really exciting this year. We’ve put a lot of thinking into making this the best experience possible, whether you are digging for a day, a week, two weeks, or the whole project. There will be dedicated staff providing orientation, training and instruction, as well as evening lectures, fun outings and plenty of time for questions. And some surprises, of course!

Activities for Children

Starting on Monday the 23rd July and going on (Weekdays) to Friday 3rd August, Time Team star Raksha Dave will be hosting sessions at the Flag Fen site for children in the Flag Fen Summer School. The activities are designed for 8-12 year-olds and will allow kids to be archaeologists for the day. They can dig on the site, and record their finds. They tell us that Pre-booking is essential due to limited spaces.

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